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Tae Kathleen Jamie, an ither Scots Scrievers

Gin there’s onythin mair difficult in this day an age than tae live as a poet, it’s tae live as a poet wha wirks in Scots – an sae it wis nae surprise tae read the day that Kathleen Jamie, yin o the kintrae’s finest scrievers in the tongue, has gien up writin poetry in her ain leid.

An it’s difficult no tae cam tae the conclusion, as Kathleen seems tae, that the real enemies o Scots arenae an indifferent government an a semi-hostile media. That whit’s haudin us back isnae wha’s in front o us, but wha maks oot tae be ahint us. The purists, the grammar polis, the fowk wha care mair aboot the deid wirds than the spikkers wha gie thaim life – the leidbangers. These are the yins wha hiv decidit that – as a freend said tae me the ither day – the language o 1.6 million people is their baw, an naebody else is tae play wi it.

Kathleen is jist bein straicht-up aboot somethin that aw Scots spikkers ken but dinnae like tae admit, which is that the thing that hauds us thegither – oor language – is forby the thing that keeps us apairt. We’re aw jist floatin aroond in the vacuum o silence, thrawin oot this auld washin line o a leid that oor mithers left us, an howpin that it cleeks ontae somebody afore it snaps in twa. Anely connect. A brief tether o unnerstaunin an then we’re aff again, driftin awa.

Which is whit maks the thing wirth stickin in wi, at least tae ma mind… But it’s no easy, an God kens hou mony times ony Scots spikker ye ken has had tae talk themsels doon aff the ledge. A uiser o Scots growin up in this kintrae the day has got twa choices – find a wey tae be yersel ‘ithin Scots, or find a wey tae be yersel wioot it. Maist o us hiv tried baith, an a hard road tho the first yin is, the toll tae the second isnae wirth the peyin.

There’s ayeweys been loads o argiments for giein up on Scots. But tak a leuk throu the archive o Bella Caledonia alane an ye’ll find a thoosand reasons mair tae keep this hauf-daft show on its rammlin road. Like aw the Scots spikkers ah ken, ah howp Kathleen Jamie finds a reason o her ain tae keep on gaun. It’s hard eneuch for fowk tae scrieve in Scots. It’d be that much harder wioot her.

I made this same call a couple of years ago. Not being weel kent, nobody noticed or gave a damn. I find your analysis pretty accurate. Here’s ma voice which stays in my head until, well… i’m beyond hope or despair on that score. https://www.mcstorytellers.com/gonnae-no-dae-that.html